A familiar face nationwide among the NASCAR fanbase, FOX’s Kaitlyn Vincie has recently opened up on her separation from Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Blake Harris.
Harris currently works on the No.48 team of Alex Bowman, who recently revealed his girlfriend was left ‘freaking out’ after a chaotic incident at their home.
The 37-year-old Vincie,, who first joined FOX in 2014, and cried before taking a colleague’s spot, revealed on Samantha Busch’s podcast, ‘Certified Oversharer,’ that she and Harris have been separated for around a year. As for what drove them to go their separate ways, it seems that the demands of the job ultimately proved too much to overcome for the parents of two.
“It’s crazy that the thing that brings you together can divide you in the end,” Vincie said. “I don’t think people realize the men and women who are on road crews, this is a massive commitment for them.
“I think to be successful as a crew chief, you’re pretty much married to that job. You have to be because you cannot give an inch really anywhere, right? And so, it’s to no fault of their own. It’s just what’s required of you.
“And I mean, I have an issue with a lot of this because the road crews, to me, make this entire thing function. They build the cars. They load them on the haulers, drive them across the country, tech them, practice them, qualify them, race them, tech them again, take them to R&D, and start all over. And they do it for 10 months, and they’re usually paid the least.”
Vincie added that crew members will typically leave home “when the sun comes up and you don’t really know when they’re going to be done for the day,” explaining how last-minute changes or fixes often demand their full attention and time.
What’s more, while they were both constantly travelling to the same circuits for the same events, ultimately due to the demands of their jobs, it meant their schedules did not coincide, while they would also stay in different hotels and drive different rental cars.
While Vincie didn’t blame Harris for their lack of time together, she admitted that it reached a point where she felt “frustrated all the time,” noting how these issues had been ongoing for around three years. “I think we both just knew it had taken such a toll, and you just are not happy,” she said.
Now a single mom, an emotional Vincie told Busch, who has been married to two-time Cup Series champion Kyle for 15 years, that she wished NASCAR were more proactive in helping members of its community navigate the challenges the sport throws up.
DON’T MISS…
“One of the things too, that I wish this sport offered and maybe they do, but if they do, I don’t know about it, so it hasn’t been properly presented to us, is more resources for families,” she said. “Family counselors, therapists, a network of child care providers, something to manage this schedule and these demands because it’s just a little bit unreasonable.”
Thankfully for Vincie, Harris, and their two children, the separation has been taken well by the youngsters, with the FOX star emphasizing that her strong relationship with their dad may well have helped.
“Both him and I care so much about them [the children] and making sure they’re still getting the best and him and I have an amazing relationship,” she explained. “You know, a lot of people would look at that and be like, really? But we do. We speak every day. We’re still great friends.”